Hamilton and Rosberg want Brawn to stay at Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg hope that Mercedes principal Ross Brawn will stay with their Formula 1 team next season despite media speculation that the Briton could be headed elsewhere.

“The internet is just rumours but for sure there are discussions ongoing with the team, Ross has said, ” German driver Rosberg, winner in Monaco and Britain this year, told reporters at the Japanese Grand Prix.

“For me, it would be great if he stays because I get on well with him and I think he’s a great team principal.

“At the same time I have confidence in the team leadership’s ability to make sure we have a solid future whatever his decision is because we have a lot of great strength in the team now as it is.”

Reports emerging in Germany after last weekend’s Korean Grand Prix suggested that Brawn had informed the team’s non-executive chairman Niki Lauda that he would be leaving at the end of the season.

Ross Brawn with the Mercedes team and drivers celebrating victory at Silverstone in June

Some have speculated that the Briton could end up at Honda, whose team he led before it became the title-winning Brawn GP and then Mercedes, when they return as engine partners to McLaren, in 2015. McLaren sources have dismissed such talk.

Lauda subsequently told German media that he was in negotiations with Brawn and no decision had been taken.

“My goal is clearly to retain him, but he will only make the decision at the end of the year,” the Austrian was quoted.

Brawn’s future has been the subject of speculation all year since the team recruited Paddy Lowe from McLaren as executive director. They also brought in Toto Wolff from Williams as Mercedes motorsport head.

Lewis Hamilton with Ross Brawn

Rosberg said that Brawn, the master tactician behind Michael Schumacher’s seven wins with Benetton in the 1990s and Ferrari in the 2000s, was highly respected within the team and an important part of it.

Hamilton, who moved to Mercedes from McLaren at the end of last season after being convinced by Lauda and Brawn, agreed.

“I don’t know what his plans are for the future, but of course I’d like him to stay,” the 2008 World Champion, a winner for his new team in Hungary last July, told reporters.

“I grew up watching him on TV, so I had no idea what his personality was like, but he’s been just as I thought of him watching TV.

“He’s a very easy going guy, very approachable, and is very much responsible for where the team is today and the atmosphere he has helped create.” (Reuters)